6 worst periods in human history

1. The Toba disaster and the bottleneck effect

• Time frame: 75,000–67,000 BC e.

The Toba disaster is an eruption of the supervolcano of the same name, what happened between 77,000 and 69,000 years ago in present-day Indonesia. Although the exact date is unknown, studies of the geological data and DNA of modern humans allow make the assumption that this event led to the death of most of the human population of that time.

Due to the ash thrown out by Toba, the volcanic winter lasted for about 10 years, and this led to a cooling of the planet by about 3-5 ° C. It is impossible to estimate the number of victims, but it is quite possible to count the survivors. The inhabitants of Africa largely escaped the dangers, but the inhabitants of Europe and Asia took the brunt of the consequences of the eruption. Analysis of genetic data

showsthat the population of the planet decreased only up to 2,000–10,000 individuals.

In fact, humanity was on the verge of extinction - this is called the "bottleneck effect". And we are all descendants of those few that managed to survive Toba disaster. Most likely, this was the most dangerous period in the history of mankind, when our entire species literally looked death in the face.

2. bronze collapse

• Time frame: 1205–1150 BC e.

The Bronze Age catastrophe is a series of significant social, economic and political upheavals that happened in various regions of Eurasia and the Mediterranean.

According to the records of that period, some barbarian "peoples of the sea" invaded the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite kingdom in Anatolia and Syria, and the Egyptian empire in Syria and Canaan. As a result, many civilizations and cultures collapsed. Trade links were disrupted, the economy suffered, and an era of resource scarcity and declining literacy ensued.

Many developed states have collapsed or slid into barbarism. The Mycenaean and Luvian scripts disappeared altogether. The cities along the route from Troy to Gaza were almost completely destroyed by wars, looters and civil unrest. Many of them have never been inhabited again.

Cambridge historian Robert Drews describes The Bronze Collapse as "perhaps the most terrible disaster in ancient history, even more catastrophic than the collapse of the Western Roman Empire». Shipbuilding, architecture, metalworking, water supply, weaving and painting rolled back many years and were revived only after about 500 years - in the late archaic period.

But there is a blessing in disguise: at least, thanks to this catastrophe, most of the peoples of Europe and Asia switched from bronze to iron.

3. Volcanic winter and Justinian plague

• Time frame: 536–549

Choosing the worst year in history is not an easy task, because during its existence, mankind has experienced many terrible periods. But according to Michael McCormick, a historian at Harvard who specializes in the Middle Ages, 536 is the best fit.

Then the first of three strong volcanic eruptions in Iceland, which led to the onset of the Late Antique Little Ice Age. Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia were plunged into darkness for 18 months. Procopius of Caesarea wrote: "The sun for almost the whole year gave off scant light, dimming like the moon, and what was happening was like an eclipse."

Due to eternal twilight in the summer of 536, the temperature on the planet dropped by 1.5-2.5 ° C, which marked the beginning of the coldest decade in the last 2,300 years. There were droughts and low harvests all over the world, and snow fell in China in the summer, leading to famine. The Irish chronicles noted the failure of the grain harvest from 536 to 539.

And, as if that weren't enough, in 541 the largest empires of the time - the Sasanian and Byzantine - embraced the first bubonic plague pandemic. Emperor Justinian I, who ruled Byzantium, became infected, but managed to survive, so the disease got his name.

The plague swept the entire Mediterranean, becoming one of the deadliest in history - it claimed the lives of more than 100 million people. The same Byzantium, for example, lost half of the population. Sickness and bad weather led to political chaos and prolonged stagnation in Europe, and this continued until 640. This period was called the "Dark Ages".

4. Great Famine and Black Death

• Time frame: 1315–1353

Life in medieval Europe in itself was not easy and full of various trouble. But in 1315 a special disaster happened. It rained all spring and summer, and the temperature remained low, and this led to massive crop failures. Straw and hay deteriorated from moisture, so there was not enough feed for livestock. In Lorraine, for example, the price of wheat grew up by 320%, which made bread an unaffordable luxury not only for peasants, but also for the nobility. The Great Famine began.

The scale of the disaster was such that even King Edward II of England had to be malnourished. According to city chronicles Bristol, in 1315, “the great famine was so terrible that there were scarcely enough living to bury the dead. Horse and dog meat was considered a delicacy." In addition, wet weather had a bad effect on people's health, and many suffered from pneumonia, bronchitis and tuberculosis. The famine lasted, according to some estimates, until 1322.

However, even more severe life in the Middle Ages did arrival in 1346 of Khan Dzhanibek. His army brought with them other uninvited guests - plague sticks. During the siege of the city of Kaffa, the cunning khan came up with the idea of ​​​​throwing the corpses of his own soldiers who died from the plague with catapults over the fortress walls. Started in the city epidemic, and in a panic, the Genoese merchants who sailed from there on their ships spread the infection throughout Europe.

Thus began the second plague pandemic in history after Justinian's. Peak her fell for 1346-1353, but individual foci of the disease continued to flare up until the 19th century. Dubbed the Black Death, the disease has become one of the most devastating events in human history. People were covered with ulcers and purulent abscesses the size of an apple, all this was accompanied by a terrible fever and vomiting, and led to an inevitable and painful death.

The pandemic has claimed the lives of about 200 million people in Europe and Asia and reduced the world's population by 22%. It took more than 300 years to restore the former population.

5. Little Ice Age and the Thirty Years' War

• Time frame: 1600–1648

The year 1600 was the beginning of one of the most unfavorable periods in history. On February 19, 1600, the powerful eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru took place, which became the most powerful in South America for the entire time of the presence of people on the continent. This event led to the beginning of the so-called Little Ice Age.

global cooling caused serious consequences in many parts of the world. For example, summer temperatures in China decreased significantly, leading to crop failures and epidemics. As a result of these unfavorable conditions, the Ming dynasty was overthrown in 1644, and the country was thrown into a state of social and political crisis. And in Korea, a drought in 1670 led to the death of 20% of the population.

In Europe there were also fixed extremely cold summer periods, covering almost the entire century. The global temperature there has decreased by 1-2°C.

Greenland was covered with glaciers, and the Norwegian settlements disappeared from the island. Even the southern seas frozen, which allowed sledding on the Thames and the Danube. In 1621-1669, the Bosporus was covered with ice. And the Moscow River has become a reliable platform for fairs.

Colds led to reduced crops, food shortages, food riots and unrest. In Ireland, for example, civil war and famine claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people during the decade of the 1650s. Epidemics of infectious diseases began, exacerbated by malnutrition and poor hygienic conditions.

And from 1618 to 1648 in Europe there was also erupted The Thirty Years' War, which was one of the most violent religious conflicts in history. The struggle between the Catholic and Protestant forces was accompanied by many battles, sieges, pogroms and devastation. It covered most of Europe, including today's Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Climate catastrophe, famine and war, according to some estimates, led to the death of almost a third of the world's population at that time.

6. Two World Wars and the Spanish Flu Pandemic

• Time frame: 1914–1945

The first half of the 20th century was an extremely bad time. In 1914 the First World War began. Before her, the world has not seen such large-scale conflicts in which so many advanced military technologies would be involved. For the first time, armies on the battlefield became apply artillery, aircraft, tanks, poisonous gases and other weapons of mass slaughter. New tactics and strategies were developed, resulting in huge losses and destruction.

After the war, four empires disappeared: German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian. At least 9 million people died in the fighting, in addition, more than 5 million civilians were killed.

And immediately after the end of the war in 1918, the Spanish pandemic swept the world. influenza. The exact number of deaths from it is unknown - estimates vary from 17.4 to 100 million people, that is, from 0.9 to 5.3% of the world's population. The Spanish flu had an unusually high mortality rate, especially among young people. Malnutrition, overcrowded medical camps and hospitals, and poor hygiene increased the lethality of the disease beyond the limits.

In the 1930s, the world economy faced with the Great Depression. This economic crisis affected almost all countries and led to a sharp decline in production, unemployment and deterioration in the living conditions of millions of people. It brought massive bankruptcies, loss of savings and famine.

Finally, World War II, which broke out in 1939, became the most devastating conflict in history. She led to the death of 60 to 70 million people, including civilians. It was distinguished by massive air raids, tank battles and underwater battles. It has also been applied nuclear bomb.

The war was accompanied by genocide and massacres. In six years of fierce fighting, she reduced most of Europe to ruins, and it took decades for humanity to recover from this whole nightmare.